Compensation
by irishcookie
Summary: ONESHOT COMPLETE: When there is no one else, Jenna calls in a debt and finds out if Elijah is a man of his word.  Based on a rare ship prompt.  Jenna centric.  Mentions of character death and violence


Author's Note: Written for a Livejournal Prompt. It is a little different when what I have written for The Vampire Diaries thus far! There are references to character death, and violence.

Jenna is beyond caring – in fact she believes she is beyond feeling anything at all.

The last few days have left her numb, an empty shell of who she once was.

She should be home – there are so many phone calls to make, so many decisions, so many arrangements.

Instead she stands in a dimly lit hallway, her hand raised and ready to strike. Before she can knock the door opens and Elijah is standing there. She cannot contain the intake of breath, the way her heart rate automatically doubles. At one time, she would have attributed it to an attraction that she had been secretly harboring. But now – now she attributes it to fear.

For she knows what he is and what he is capable of.

"Jenna."

He must know that he no longer has to pretend for there is no smile on his face, no welcoming gesture. He regards her with a calculating coldness that should have her retreating.

Instead she stands her ground.

"I am sorry," he tells her.

She reacts immediately, screwing her face up. She finally feels something: rage – fast and hard. "You are only sorry because you did not win."

Something resembling a smile curves across his face. "A fair enough statement. Do you wish to come in?"

Jenna nods and he moves just enough to allow her access. She brushes against him as she enters and knows that he crowded her on purpose. She highly doubts he does anything without meaning. When he shuts the door behind her, she turns and watches him stand in front of her only way out.

She isn't looking for an exit any way.

"In truth, their deaths were unforeseen and regrettable." He moves closer and instinct tells her to step back. She fights, and holds fast, still shaking with the overwhelming hatred coursing through her system.

"You make it sound as if they nothing more than collateral damage. They were people, living breathing people. They were my family!" Jenna's voice has risen and taken on a shrillness foreign to even her. "And you helped get them killed!"

He is quick.

Before she can blink, Elijah stands before her. His eyes are hard, holding her in place even though she would like to finally retreat. "You are mistaken, Jenna. I do not lead innocent lambs to slaughter. Each knew the risks when they agreed to assist me in defeating Klaus."

She is breathing heavily, and wonders if she is heading to a panic attack. If so, it is long overdo – no doubt building since the moment Damon and Caroline, the soul survivors, had come to her with the horrifying truth. She decides to let it come, her eyes falling shut.

When nothing happens, she sags and is surprised when Elijah reaches out to steady her. She pulls back as if his touch burns her. Jenna swallows, looking around the room, a definite reflection of the monster in it. "They tell me you are a man of your word."

"I am," he confirms without even a second's thought.

"I know you gave Elena your word that you would keep the ones she loved safe." For as long as she lives Jenna wants to remember Elena as the strong vibrant young woman she was and not as the broken body she has to bury. Her Elena would make such a deal no matter what the cost.

"I did."

"The way I see it – you failed her. So many she loved are dead." She tries to keep her voice detached, to think of them as Elena's loved ones and not her own. She needs to keep her head clear now that she is reaching the climax – the reason she has come in the first place. "You owe her. Seeing that she cannot collect, I intend to."

For the first time since she has entered the room, Elijah looks puzzled, and perhaps a tad intrigued. "What do you want, Jenna?"

She has practiced this so many times. Now faced with the moment, Jenna wonders if she can do it. She raises her head, holding herself as steady as she can. "I want you to make me like you."

Clearly, it is not the request he was expecting. He furrows his brows. "You wish to become like the thing that killed your family." He appears to consider her and her request carefully before adding, "It begs the question why."

Jenna is prepared for this too. "Because it puts me on more level playing field to return the favor."

Elijah seemingly cannot contain his laughter. It echoes throughout the small room and she feels as if he is mocking her. "You think you can kill an original? Even if you become a vampire, you still are no match physically."

"And I never will be. But I will have the time I need to discover another way. No matter how invincible you lot believe yourself to be, everything has a weakness. And I intend to discover his, and use it against him. Even if it takes me centuries," Jenna speaks quietly, hoping he hears the conviction behind her words. "I couldn't protect them…but I will ensure that they are avenged."

"There are those who would tell you that you have a death wish," Elijah says and she wonders if he is one of them.

"They may be right. But to them I ask what do I have to live for?" Jenna takes a deep breath. "Will you help me?"

"And if I refuse your request?" Elijah asks.

"Then I will find someone who won't. I came to you first because I figured that some part of that code you so desperately cling to would recognize what I am trying to do." Jenna steps toward him, closing what little space is between then. "I won't beg. I will only ask that you help me."

She wishes that she could know what is going on inside his head. The silence is heavy and she begins to feel the desperation that clings to her. Her eyes slide close, willing it to leave.

Because the fact of the matter is: if he turns her away, she will have precious little options.

Jenna looks just time to see the blood began to pool in his eyes. When he opens his mouth, she can see the instruments of her own death. If she wishes to turn back, now is the moment. He is giving her the chance to choose her own fate. Wordlessly, she reaches up, moving her hair to one side and exposing herself.

"This will hurt."

He is not wrong. It is like fire and she clings to him, her fingers tangled in his jacket as he savages her throat. She is surprised at how easily she can feel her own life leaving. She is losing control, her body slipping, falling to the ground. But he is there to guide her.

When he pulls away, she can barely see him. Her vision is clouding fast, and she can only make out the brightness of her blood on his mouth. She can feel death approaching and begins to panic. He is looming over her – nothing more. What if he chooses to let her die here like this?

She wants to rage against him but she does not have any spark left to speak. Her eyes flutter and she realizes her last thoughts will be of how foolish she was to come here in the first place.

Just when she is sure she will take her last breath, she feels something warm and sticky pressed against her mouth and hear him urging her to drink deeply. His blood slides easily down her throat and she is surprised at the taste – it is not at all as she expected. Already she can feel her body changing, becoming something new, something stronger.

What they said was true – he is a man of his word.


End file.
